I've just hit the big milestone of the third trimester!!! And talking of big, I certainly am getting more that way. Bump has 'popped' out a bit recently (seriously, Dave and I noticed a difference between Sunday morning and Sunday night!) and keeping active is getting that bit more challenging.
The slightest incline has me going at a snail's pace - and this is a struggle given that every dog walk or run from our house has an incline of sorts! It doesn't need to be much, but anything of the uphill variety is a struggle. Baby is pushing on my lungs and diaphragm, which is causing breathlessness. I'll not talk about my bladder issues here but let's just say I can't get far!
That being said, I've had a very straightforward pregnancy thus far and I am so grateful for that. Keeping active is something that's very important to me, and in my naivety of the first trimester I thought I could manage at least one Munro before my due date. Unfortunately I know now that's not a realistic possibility (well, I could possibly manage Carn Aosda at Glenshee with the very high start!), as it would just be too much for me.
However, we had planned a few days break on Skye to visit our friends Bill and Line at the end of March, and I was keen to get some good walking done if I could. It meant sacrificing parkrun last Saturday morning which is never easy for me to do (one day there will be one on Skye!), but annual leave and fitting in around the tourism season (check Bill's tours out here: www.realscottishjourneys.com) saw us travelling up on Thursday and back on Sunday.
Unfortunately Friday wasn't such a nice day weather-wise, although we got out for a few walks. Firstly a wee stroll alongside the River Snizort, near Bill and Line's house. Then to St Columba's Isle, to visit the MacNicol burial site. Line took us to what would normally be a great viewpoint of the Old Man of Storr and Trotternish Ridge from the Storr Lochs, however the weather was really against us by this point. Soaked and weather-beaten, Dave and I made our final stop of the day at the Faerie Glen, somewhere Dave has been visiting for over fifteen years. Thoroughly soaked, we made our way home for pizza, non-alcoholic beer, and the warmth of a log fire!
What Friday lacked in decent weather and views Saturday made up for in abundance. We couldn't have had a more different day. We decided to head back over to the Isle of Raasay and attempt the hike up Dun Caan, where we got engaged in October 2015. I wasn't sure how I'd get on with this, but we agreed to take it easy and stop if it was too much.
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| On the ferry with Dun Caan in the background |
We did take it easy, and thankfully I found it much more straightforward than I thought I would. It's not a strenuous climb, but enough to challenge me. I was delighted to make it to the top - and we had it all to ourselves (except for two tents; we met the lovely couple on our way back down who were spending their Saturday night at the top!). It actually felt surprisingly sheltered at the top, so we took some photos, had some snacks and enjoyed being back in this special place.
Then we made our way back down and enjoyed a picnic lunch in the sunshine in the lay-by.
I was unsurprisingly very tired after this adventure, but I was so chuffed to have managed it. It made me think I could probably manage a jaunt up the Eildons or the Pentlands when the weather gets better again and before I get even bigger!
I haven't run for two weeks now but I'm hoping to manage Vogrie parkrun this weekend.
Whilst on Skye, we also celebrated Tig's third 'dog day' with us - we rescued her on 31st March 2016. We think she had approximately three years in her previous life (farm/rescue centre, but there wasn't a vet record of her before she was given to the rescue centre) so this year marks her being with us for longer than that!
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| Tig's highlights March 2018-19 |
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